Oppenheimer’s “Madoff with the Money” hits bookstores

It wasn’t the first book on now-imprisoned Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff, and it won’t be the last. But Jerry Oppenheimer’s latest, “Madoff with the Money,” is a really doozy, with lots of juicy details about the Ponzi schemer who made a fortune before wiping out many others’ fortunes.
Once established, according to Oppenheimer, Bernie, wife Ruth and extended family members lived very high on the hog.

One passage relates how he had the company pay for orchids for his office — and, allegedly, extras regularly found their way into the homes of family members. One screamed for them to be taken away because — gasp! — one of the orchids was bent. Oh the horror.

His niece, Shana, allegedly did next to nothing for her paycheck, while ordering a company chauffeur to “take her dog’s specimens” (eww) to the veterinarian for testing. And she supposedly demanded that her personal assistant take care of her every whim.

The book claims more than one younger female employee, typically a blonde knock-off of Ruth, was shown the door, with a large wad of cash, after her affair with Bernie ended. Ouch.

And there’s this interesting tidbit on why Bernie hired the people he did:
“As one veteran Madoff insider asserts, ‘Bernie made it a point to hire people who weren’t that smart so they wouldn’t trip over anything incriminating. You could have a great job at Madoff even if you were a semimoron, because you were well-trained on the job and paid far better than anyone on Wall Street, and didn’t ask too many questions.”

A distinct lack of curiosity — don’t see THAT as a job requirement very often.